Does where you go for undergrad matter...

<p>Ive read articles, heard peoples testimonies, and now i need the college confidential community's insight. Does it matter where I go for my undergrad? Of course grad school matters but is undergrad overrated? meaning is it thought of more importantly than it actually is? </p>

<p>The reason i ask is because im having a huge...huge difficulty choosing whether i go to Purdue, Temple for honors,(Gtech if accepted), or a not so well-known university that i 65% want to attend. Im planning to major in engineering but the not so popular university doesnt have a good engineering program as Purdue and Gtech. However, despite that i still like that unpopular university for personal reasons. </p>

<p>desired program vs. personal comfort.....HELP</p>

<p>Normally I might be less committal but Purdue and GT are among the top engineering schools in the country – and known by recruiters/employers. Not something to cast aside easily…</p>

<p>This is my view on it. I think if you were going to get a job right afterwards undergrad, then yes, it would matter where you go. But if you want to go to med school after, it won’t be as big of a deal where you go in terms of admission/selection, as mcats, gpa, research and clinical experience matter a heck of a lot more. Correct me if I’m wrong.</p>

<p>For engineering, a higher profile university for the specific major will tend to attract more non-local recruiters to its career center, which can make it easier to look for internships or your first job at graduation. Local recruiters will go to whichever university is conveniently local to them.</p>

<p>Curriculum-wise, if it is ABET-accredited, it meets a fairly high minimum standard (and ABET accreditation is very helpful for Professional Engineer licensing which is common in civil engineering), though some schools may have more major electives in areas where their faculty specialize in, and more selective schools may pack more material into the same number of courses or credit units (allowing for more elective space in your schedule if you can handle the faster pace). Smaller schools may have more limited course offerings than larger schools, and may offer some courses only once per year or once every two years instead of every semester.</p>